Pharynx
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From the mouth, the oro- and laryngopharynx
allow passage of:
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Food and fluids to the esophagus
Air to the trachea
Lined with stratified squamous epithelium and
mucus glands
Has two skeletal muscle layers
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Inner longitudinal
Outer pharyngeal constrictors
Esophagus
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Muscular tube going from the laryngopharynx
to the stomach
Travels through the mediastinum and pierces
the diaphragm
Joins the stomach at the cardiac orifice
Esophageal Characteristics
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Esophageal mucosa – nonkeratinized stratified
squamous epithelium
The empty esophagus is folded longitudinally
and flattens when food is present
Glands secrete mucus as a bolus (compacted
food product) moves through the esophagus
Muscularis changes from skeletal (superiorly)
to smooth muscle (inferiorly)
Digestive Processes in the Mouth
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Food is ingested
Mechanical digestion begins (chewing)
Propulsion is initiated by swallowing
Salivary amylase begins chemical breakdown
of starch
The pharynx and esophagus serve as conduits
to pass food from the mouth to the stomach
Deglutition (Swallowing)
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Coordinated activity of the tongue, soft palate,
pharynx, esophagus, and 22 separate muscle
groups
Buccal phase – bolus is forced into the
oropharynx
Deglutition (Swallowing)
Pharyngeal-esophageal phase – controlled by the
medulla and lower pons
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All routes except into the digestive tract are sealed
off
Peristalsis moves food through the pharynx to
the esophagus
Stomach
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Chemical breakdown of proteins begins and
food is converted to chyme
Cardiac region – surrounds the cardiac orifice
Fundus – dome-shaped region beneath the
diaphragm
Body – midportion of the stomach
Pyloric region – made up of the antrum and
canal which terminates at the pylorus
The pylorus is continuous with the duodenum
through the pyloric sphincter
Stomach
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Greater curvature – entire extent of the convex
lateral surface
Lesser curvature – concave medial surface
Lesser omentum – runs from the liver to the
lesser curvature
Greater omentum – drapes inferiorly from the
greater curvature to the small intestine
Stomach
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Nerve supply – sympathetic and
parasympathetic fibers of the autonomic
nervous system
Blood supply – celiac trunk, and
corresponding veins (part of the hepatic portal
system)
Microscopic Anatomy of the
Stomach

Muscularis – has an additional oblique layer
that:
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Allows the stomach to churn, mix, and pummel
food physically
Breaks down food into smaller fragments
Microscopic Anatomy of the
Stomach
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Epithelial lining is composed of:
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Goblet cells that produce a coat of alkaline mucus
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The mucous surface layer traps a bicarbonate-rich fluid
beneath it
Gastric pits contain gastric glands that secrete
gastric juice, mucus, and gastrin
Glands of the Stomach Fundus
and Body
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Gastric glands of the fundus and body have a
variety of secretory cells
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Mucous neck cells – secrete acid mucus
Parietal cells – secrete HCl and intrinsic factor
Glands of the Stomach Fundus
and Body
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Chief cells – produce pepsinogen
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Pepsinogen is activated to pepsin by:
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HCl in the stomach
Pepsin itself via a positive feedback mechanism
Enteroendocrine cells – secrete gastrin, histamine,
endorphins, serotonin, cholecystokinin (CCK), and
somatostatin into the lamina propria
Stomach Lining
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The stomach is exposed to the harshest
conditions in the digestive tract
To keep from digesting itself, the stomach has
a mucosal barrier with:
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A thick coat of bicarbonate-rich mucus on the
stomach wall
Epithelial cells that are joined by tight junctions
Gastric glands that have cells impermeable to HCl
Damaged epithelial cells are quickly replaced
Digestion in the Stomach
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The stomach:
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Holds ingested food
Degrades this food both physically and chemically
Delivers chyme to the small intestine
Enzymatically digests proteins with pepsin
Secretes intrinsic factor required for absorption of
vitamin B12
Regulation of Gastric Secretion
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Neural and hormonal mechanisms regulate the
release of gastric juice
Stimulatory and inhibitory events occur in
three phases
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Cephalic (reflex) phase: prior to food entry
Gastric phase: once food enters the stomach
Intestinal phase: as partially digested food enters
the duodenum
Cephalic Phase
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Excitatory events include:
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Sight or thought of food
Stimulation of taste or smell receptors
Inhibitory events include:
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Loss of appetite or depression
Decrease in stimulation of the parasympathetic
division
Gastric Phase
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Excitatory events include:
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Stomach distension
Activation of stretch receptors (neural activation)
Activation of chemoreceptors by peptides,
caffeine, and rising pH
Release of gastrin to the blood
Gastric Phase
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Inhibitory events include:
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A pH lower than 2
Emotional upset that overrides the parasympathetic
division
Intestinal Phase
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Excitatory phase – low pH; partially digested
food enters the duodenum and encourages
gastric gland activity
Inhibitory phase – distension of duodenum,
presence of fatty, acidic, or hypertonic chyme,
and/or irritants in the duodenum
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Initiates inhibition of local reflexes and vagal
nuclei
Closes the pyloric sphincter
Releases enterogastrones that inhibit gastric
secretion
Regulation and Mechanism of
HCl Secretion
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HCl secretion is stimulated by ACh, histamine,
and gastrin through second-messenger systems
Antihistamines block H2 receptors and
decrease HCl release
Response of the Stomach to
Filling
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Stomach pressure remains constant until about
1L of food is ingested
Relative unchanging pressure results from
reflex-mediated relaxation and plasticity
Response of the Stomach to
Filling
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Reflex-mediated events include:
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Receptive relaxation – as food travels in the
esophagus, stomach muscles relax
Adaptive relaxation – the stomach dilates in
response to gastric filling
Plasticity – intrinsic ability of smooth muscle
to exhibit the stress-relaxation response
Gastric Contractile Activity
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Peristaltic waves move toward the pylorus at
the rate of 3 per minute
This basic electrical rhythm (BER) is initiated
by pacemaker cells (cells of Cajal)
Gastric Contractile Activity
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Most vigorous peristalsis and mixing occurs
near the pylorus
Chyme is either:
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Delivered in small amounts to the duodenum or
Forced backward into the stomach for further
mixing
Regulation of Gastric Emptying
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Gastric emptying is regulated by:
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The neural enterogastric reflex
Hormonal (enterogastrone) mechanisms
These mechanisms inhibit gastric secretion and
duodenal filling
Regulation of Gastric Emptying
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Carbohydrate-rich chyme quickly moves
through the duodenum
Fat-laden chyme is digested more slowly
causing food to remain in the stomach longer
Small Intestine: Gross Anatomy
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Runs from pyloric sphincter to the ileocecal
valve
Has three subdivisions: duodenum, jejunum,
and ileum
Small Intestine: Gross Anatomy
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The bile duct and main pancreatic duct:
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Join the duodenum at the hepatopancreatic ampulla
Are controlled by the sphincter of Oddi
The jejunum extends from the duodenum to
the ileum
The ileum joins the large intestine at the
ileocecal valve
Small Intestine: Microscopic
Anatomy
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Structural modifications of the small intestine
wall increase surface area
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Plicae circulares: deep circular folds of the mucosa
and submucosa
Villi – fingerlike extensions of the mucosa
Microvilli – tiny projections of absorptive mucosal
cells’ plasma membranes
Small Intestine: Histology of the
Wall
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The epithelium of the mucosa is made up of:
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Absorptive cells and goblet cells
Enteroendocrine cells
Interspersed T cells called intraepithelial
lymphocytes (IELs)
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IELs release cytokines
Small Intestine: Histology of the
Wall
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Cells of intestinal crypts secrete intestinal juice
Peyer’s patches are found in the submucosa
Brunner’s glands in the duodenum secrete
alkaline mucus
Intestinal Juice
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Secreted by intestinal glands in response to
distension or irritation of the mucosa
Slightly alkaline and isotonic with blood
plasma
Largely water, enzyme-poor, but contains
mucus
Liver
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The largest gland in the body
Superficially has four lobes – right, left,
caudate, and quadrate
The falciform ligament:
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Separates the right and left lobes anteriorly
Suspends the liver from the diaphragm and
anterior abdominal wall
Liver
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The ligamentum teres:
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Is a remnant of the fetal umbilical vein
Runs along the free edge of the falciform ligament
Liver: Associated Structures
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The lesser omentum anchors the liver to the
stomach
The hepatic blood vessels enter the liver at the
porta hepatis
The gallbladder rests in a recess on the inferior
surface of the right lobe
Liver: Associated Structures
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Bile leaves the liver via:
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Bile ducts, which fuse into the common hepatic
duct
The common hepatic duct, which fuses with the
cystic duct
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These two ducts form the bile duct
Liver: Microscopic Anatomy
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Hexagonal-shaped liver lobules are the
structural and functional units of the liver
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Composed of hepatocyte (liver cell) plates
radiating outward from a central vein
Portal triads are found at each of the six corners of
each liver lobule
Figure 23.24c
Liver: Microscopic Anatomy
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Portal triads consist of a bile duct and
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Hepatic artery – supplies oxygen-rich blood to the
liver
Hepatic portal vein – carries venous blood with
nutrients from digestive viscera
Figure 23.24d
Liver: Microscopic Anatomy
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Liver sinusoids – enlarged, leaky capillaries
located between hepatic plates
Kupffer cells – hepatic macrophages found in
liver sinusoids
Liver: Microscopic Anatomy
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Hepatocytes’ functions include:
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Production of bile
Processing bloodborne nutrients
Storage of fat-soluble vitamins
Detoxification
Secreted bile flows between hepatocytes
toward the bile ducts in the portal triads
Composition of Bile
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A yellow-green, alkaline solution containing
bile salts, bile pigments, cholesterol, neutral
fats, phospholipids, and electrolytes
Bile salts are cholesterol derivatives that:
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Emulsify fat
Facilitate fat and cholesterol absorption
Help solubilize cholesterol
Enterohepatic circulation recycles bile salts
The chief bile pigment is bilirubin, a waste
product of heme
The Gallbladder
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Thin-walled, green muscular sac on the ventral
surface of the liver
Stores and concentrates bile by absorbing its
water and ions
Releases bile via the cystic duct, which flows
into the bile duct
Regulation of Bile Release

Acidic, fatty chyme causes the duodenum to
release:
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Cholecystokinin (CCK) and secretin into the
bloodstream
Bile salts and secretin transported in blood
stimulate the liver to produce bile
Vagal stimulation causes weak contractions of
the gallbladder
Regulation of Bile Release
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Cholecystokinin causes:
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The gallbladder to contract
The hepatopancreatic sphincter to relax
As a result, bile enters the duodenum